Major controversies which have arisen from linguists' research into Black English and implications of this research for education of dialect-speaking students are discussed. (JD)

Summarizes the main points presented in the 1989 book, "The Death of Black English" by R.R. Butlers (1989). Butler's book presents most important research of last 20 years and subjects the results to variation analysis. It is concluded that the history of linguistic assimilation points to the eventual disappearance of Black English in…

Considers if American Ebonics is a different language from English or if it is a dialect of English. Discusses how American Ebonics relates to the larger Ebonics picture. Focuses on the grammatical patterns of Ebonics that diverge the most from standard English. Addresses pedagogical implications. (SC)

The exposure of linguistically different black kindergarten children to a special literature program was undertaken to test its efficacy as a preventive approach to reading failure. There were 94 subjects (45 in an experimental group and 49 in a control group) in four schools located in lower income urban areas. The program demonstrated a…

At the prekindergarten and kindergarten age, children generally appear to be oblivious to dialect differences and fail to associate these differences in language variety with black speakers. (JH)

This article surveys the literature on Ebonics that was published from 1865 to 1975. The linguistic features of Ebonics are categorized into phonological, systactical, and lexical groupings. (Author)

Discusses new areas of investigation for causes of underachievement in black children, drawing on pertinent work in the United States, recent British research, and several personal accounts by black teachers. The article concludes by highlighting the role of black educators in multiethnic schools and points to their dual position in relation to…

As the field of sociolinguistics has emerged, its terminology, which like many other emerging disciplines contains many neologisms and new usages, has sometimes been called insensitive. This reaction may interfere with serious examination of the field's content. Areas of disagreement or dispute include terms used for the speech of black…

The behavior of verbal "-s" is examined in two data sets on early Black English as represented by: (1) tape-recorded interviews with native English-speaking residents of a region of the Dominican Republic; and (2) the ex-slave recordings housed in the Library of Congress. Each verbal construction with the potential for variable…

No relation between composition "dialect" and judged quality of the writing was found. (DD)

Finds that words written in dialect are difficult for black students to comprehend while reading silently, which does not agree with previously advanced hypotheses by other researchers. (RB)

Is Black English a true language form? A history of its development was discussed with suggestions for language teachers and school systems in meeting the language needs of the black student. (RK)

Despite three decades of research on African American English (AAE), educational workshops aimed at improving the academic achievement, particularly the literacy achievement, of African American students still emphasize differences between Standard English and African American English. One result is that teachers may overlook the linguistic…

Paper presented at the annual meeting of the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages, November 1970, in Los Angeles, California. (DS)